Mayor Barry Continues Investments in Schools, Transportation, Safety, Housing and Quality of Life with New Capital Spending Plan

5/15/2017

Mayor Megan Barry today proposed a $288 million capital spending plan for the next fiscal year to the Metro Council.

“Nashville is a fast-growing city, and we need to invest in our infrastructure to ensure that our growth is sustainable,” said Mayor Barry. “This plan will help us meet our needs in the areas of education, transportation, public safety, and affordable housing while remaining fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of Davidson County.”

The capital spending plan is a resolution that calls for the issuance of $288 million in general obligation bonds to be used for physical assets and projects. Mayor Barry also submitted the Capital Improvements Budget, a listing of all the proposed projects from Metro departments, Council Members, and the Mayor that could be funded in FY17-18, starting on July 1. Inclusion in the CIB does not guarantee a project will be funded or move forward, but it must be included to be considered for funding during the fiscal year.

Highlights of the capital spending plan include:

Public Safety – Funds will be set aside to plan and design a new Emergency Communications Center and new Juvenile Justice Center. $15 million will be allocated for police body-worn and dash cameras. (Later this summer, another $8 million will be proposed through Metro’s 4 Percent Reserve Fund to upgrade outdated laptops and printers in police cruisers that support body and dash cameras.)

Public Education and Youth – Mayor Barry is including $48 million for Phase 2 of the Hillsboro High School renovation that began last year, as well as $10.2 million to acquire land in Bellevue to build a new high school serving the Hillwood cluster and $9 million for land for a new School of the Arts.

Transportation and Transit – The Spending Plan allocates $65 million for sidewalks and paving; $3 million specifically for sidewalks that will make it easier for children to walk to school; $2 million for bikeways, and $13 million for roadway improvements, including $7 million at the Interstate 24/Hickory Hollow interchange and $6 million for the Crestmoor/Glen Echo realignment project on Hillsboro Pike. Mayor Barry recommends replacing the city’s aging fleet of diesel buses with approximately 30 hybrid buses for $17.5 million, along with a new fare collection system for $7.2 million that will make it easier for citizens to ride MTA buses. And $1.8 million will be allocated to extend the Music City Circuit out Jefferson Street to Tennessee State University so students and other residents will have a convenient way to get to downtown, Nashville Farmers’ Market, the Gulch and other areas.

Affordable Housing – For the first time, Metro will be using general obligation bonds for the purchase and construction of affordable housing in Nashville. The new program, with $25 million in starting capital, will allow the city to buy and rehab low-income housing that’s at risk of becoming unaffordable and also build affordable housing on city-owned property.

Quality of Life – $16 million for Metro Parks, including $10 million for the Bellevue regional community center and ice rink; $3 million for soccer fields and a greenway at the Fairgrounds Nashville; $2 million for the Hadley Park tennis bubble and renovations to Antioch Community Center, and $1 million for planning and design for a Jefferson Street pocket park and renovations to Old Hickory Community Center, Sunnyside Mansion and Two Rivers Mansion. Also, $500,000 will be allocated to start planning a new Hadley Park branch library, while $2.5 million will fund repairs and maintenance on Metro Action Commission Head Start centers.

Mayor Barry plans to follow up with a second capital spending plan sometime during FY17-18 if expenditures and revenues meet or exceed budget projections, Metro Finance Director Talia Lomax-O’dneal said in a memo to Vice Mayor David Briley and Council Members today. Read the Finance Director's Memo